Miriodor
3è Avertissement

THE REVIEW

"Our greatest pleasure is derived from a way of playing that might be virtuoso, but only in a collective sense. We are especially interested in a good sense of humor in music"

Six albums behind them, the first one twenty-five years ago at the very start of that movement known as Rock In Opposition, whose members proclaimed their independence from the (too many) compromises demanded by record companies and consequently poured into their compositions all the stylistic freedom they could conceive. Some results were undoubtedly works not easy to assimilate, practically impossible to find among the shelves of major (and minor) music stores. In three words: niche products.

The Miriodor are a Canadian group from Quebec City that have changed lineup multiple times over their twenty-five-year career, even moving from six to three members; the band's sound is by many (rightly or wrongly) recognized as a legacy of the Canterbury school, identifiable by the compositional patterns that use electronics, sometimes with a vaguely medieval flavor with some forays into avant-garde jazz.

The album I present to you, "3^e Avertissement" (Cuneiform Records, 1991) is entirely instrumental, and is played by a trio: synthesizer, percussion, and saxophone. It is a particularly sophisticated offering, at times challenging to listen to due to (or thanks to, depending on the point of view) the continuous saxophone phrases that fit into the already tightly woven patterns created by the synthesizer, making the tracks mostly intricate. The most challenging moments are perhaps those when the three members let themselves go to the heart, as in "Garde à Vous" or in "Chute Libre", completely improvised. However, there are also tracks designed to satisfy the lazier ears, focusing especially on the more immediate melody ("Jerusalem"), or where a vague avant-garde jazz contamination can be recognized ("Viking"). In short, music that is really difficult to describe, almost impossible to place in a particular context. That is the advantage/disadvantage of the RIO-sound: no label, no classification but only and exclusively "our Music." And your "Music" is truly of the highest level.

People who know how to play, and who have fun while playing. Virtuosos of the instrument, but it is virtuosity that never devolves into pure style exhibitionism, but is always at the service of the community. So, no protagonism, but an ensemble, an orchestration, a continuous leaning on one another.